Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Julie Sahni's Kheer

My sweet friend V gifted me a beautiful book on Indian cooking some time ago. Savoring India written by Julie Sahni, is a delight to browse, read and cook from.

Last night, I gave Kheer a go again using Sahni's Kheer recipe as a base. Made half of the recipe (cooked in half the time) as its only two of us, skipping the silver foil garnish and adding a dash (1/8 of a teaspoon) of Rose Water to the mix.

In the bowl of the food processor I cracked the rice (regular Basmati) in lieu of Gobinda Ghog according to Peter Berger's suggestion. To sweeten, lovely Saint Louis Comptoir du Sud Pépites de Canne (brown sugar cubes I brought back from Paris last month) were used instead of Jaggery. Mainly because just as Jaggery, it is unrefined brown sugar. But also, because it was the only sugar on hand as I had run out of my Trader Joe's Organic (although I could have used Golden Brown Sugar).

In a large, shallow pan over high heat, bring the milk and cream to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to the consistency of custard and the rice is soft and creamy, about 50 minutes.
Add the jaggery and mix well. Meanwhile, pry open the cardamom pods, remove the seeds and grind them to a powder. (This is best done using a mortar and pestle; you can also wrap the seeds in plastic wrap and crush them with a mallet or rolling pin.)
Discard the cardamom skins. Add the cardamom, saffron, raisins and almonds to the cooked rice mixture and mix well.
Transfer to a bowl, let cool, then cover and refrigerate until chilled. Spoon the pudding into small dessert bowls and garnish with silver foil.

The results? A saffron tinged version of the rice pudding I get from Maharaja. There was no need to wait until its cooled. We served it warm, almost right out of the stove. It was delicious! Yet, it lacked that consistency and flavor typical of Moghul Palace's or Maharaja's rice pudding.

I am still looking for "THE" perfect Kheer recipe. Or perhaps I should just order it in massive quantities from the restaurant? ;-)

Comments

Julie Sahni's Kheer

My sweet friend V gifted me a beautiful book on Indian cooking some time ago. Savoring India written by Julie Sahni, is a delight to browse, read and cook from.

Last night, I gave Kheer a go again using Sahni's Kheer recipe as a base. Made half of the recipe (cooked in half the time) as its only two of us, skipping the silver foil garnish and adding a dash (1/8 of a teaspoon) of Rose Water to the mix.

In the bowl of the food processor I cracked the rice (regular Basmati) in lieu of Gobinda Ghog according to Peter Berger's suggestion. To sweeten, lovely Saint Louis Comptoir du Sud Pépites de Canne (brown sugar cubes I brought back from Paris last month) were used instead of Jaggery. Mainly because just as Jaggery, it is unrefined brown sugar. But also, because it was the only sugar on hand as I had run out of my Trader Joe's Organic (although I could have used Golden Brown Sugar).

In a large, shallow pan over high heat, bring the milk and cream to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to the consistency of custard and the rice is soft and creamy, about 50 minutes.
Add the jaggery and mix well. Meanwhile, pry open the cardamom pods, remove the seeds and grind them to a powder. (This is best done using a mortar and pestle; you can also wrap the seeds in plastic wrap and crush them with a mallet or rolling pin.)
Discard the cardamom skins. Add the cardamom, saffron, raisins and almonds to the cooked rice mixture and mix well.
Transfer to a bowl, let cool, then cover and refrigerate until chilled. Spoon the pudding into small dessert bowls and garnish with silver foil.

The results? A saffron tinged version of the rice pudding I get from Maharaja. There was no need to wait until its cooled. We served it warm, almost right out of the stove. It was delicious! Yet, it lacked that consistency and flavor typical of Moghul Palace's or Maharaja's rice pudding.

I am still looking for "THE" perfect Kheer recipe. Or perhaps I should just order it in massive quantities from the restaurant? ;-)